Ch 24- Mt. Makapu

"Can you believe we're almost done?"

Aang sounded disappointed but Toph figured she might have just been projecting. He couldn't be thinking like she had the past few days, knowing she wished they had taken their time in gathering the various things for Sokka and Suki's wedding. It wasn't nearly as boring as she imagined it would be and hanging out with Twinkletoes had been, well, fun. But after having been stuck at home for so long, even hanging out with Appa and Momo would've seemed exciting.

Plus, Ba Sing Se hadn't been that bad the second time around. Aang and Toph had a bending battle in the Crystal Catacombs that scared the crap out of everyone up in the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace, but since Bosco didn't complain, neither did Kuei. The Earth King even insisted The Avatar and Master Beifong join him for dinner. They hung out with Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon almost every day, ate all sorts of pastries in the Middle Ring when they weren't scamming people near the park, and crashed a wedding in the Lower Ring after checking out how the zoo was doing.

"So, anything left on that list of yours?" Toph asked, trying her best to sound upbeat and unaffected.

Aang reached into his robes for the scroll.

"Let's see... We got the bells for the ceremony. The silk for the bridesmaids dresses-"

"Ugh, I don't wanna wear one of those," she muttered to herself.

"Who's making the dresses, Suki or Gran-Gran?"

"I don't know and I don't care, it's a dress I'd rather not wear."

Aang was going to point out that it was a pretty big deal to be part of the wedding party. Not only that, but he thought she happened to look nice in the dresses he had seen her before, but knowing Toph neither statement would please her, so Aang only laughed at her complaining.

"Did I tell you I got a letter from Sokka? They received the shipment already. The kids loved the rock candy!"

"That got there fast."

"Not so fast. Took over a month."

Toph turned to face him. That meant they had been in Ba Sing Se for three weeks. It definitely didn't feel like three weeks... Aang's voice cut through her thoughts.

"And since Iroh was nice enough to sell us some of his special tea, they'll be getting that soon enough, too."

She laughed, forgetting her previous musings. "Yeah, I can't believe Pops didn't wanna accept any payment for it."

Aang shrugged without thinking about it. "You asked for the tea, Toph. He wasn't going to charge you. He'd do anything for you, you know that. We all would."

He said the words so casually, but their impact was felt by their recipient, perhaps more than it should've. Toph was silent as he continued with the list. She had to force herself to focus in order to pay attention to what he said, her mind stuck on his earlier statement.

"We also gathered enough green glowing crystals from beneath the Royal Palace to light up the reception hall and guest rooms."

"And most of the south pole. What's so special about chunks of the brilliant rock?" she wondered out loud, then added, "Never mind, I answered my own question."

"All we need now," Aang said, "are the panda lilies from the top of Mt. Makapu and the ribbon from Gaoling."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

The ribbon they would get when he dropped her off back home, but she didn't know where they were going for the flowers.

"Where's Mt. Makapu anyway?"

"Near Makapu Village."

"Which is where?"

"Basically on the other side of the Earth Kingdom, so we better get going. Appa, yip, yip."

...

Zuko couldn't get the image of the Fire Nation navel ship sailing away out of his head. Katara had stood on deck, watching him watch her disappear over the horizon. The sun was bright and the water glimmered almost blindingly. Still, he never looked away.

Now thinking back he was sure she thought he was an idiot for standing out there so long.

...

Aang woke up with a start. His first thought was to check on Toph, make sure she was okay. But he didn't want to bother her, so he simply wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and tried not to think of the nightmare he just had.

Their carefree trip had taken an unlikely turn and soured on them. No, war was not imminent. No, a megalomaniac wasn't threatening to take over the world. It was something smaller, something different.

Movement to his right caught Aang's attention. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the faint moonlight before he realized it was Toph.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, his voice sounding too loud to both their ears.

"What tipped you off?" she scowled, readjusting the bun that had come undone as she tossed and turned.

Toph moved to sit with Aang. She leaned back on the furry bison who was snoring softly.

After leaving Ba Sing Se and traveling nonstop for almost two full days, they found a clearing at the base of the mountain range southeast of the Northern Air Temple, to let Appa rest. Six days had passed since. Six nights had plagued both Aang and Toph with nightmares. Neither had given the other any specifics, but their grouchy attitude, tired movements, and the the bags under their eyes gave them away anyway.

"How bad?"

Silence.

"That bad, huh?"

Aang sat with his legs drawn up to his chest, his elbows resting on his knees. He watched Toph out of the corner of his eye. She was cleaning some dirt from between her toes.

"More of the same." It was a question and answer in one.

"Yeah."

Neither was going to talk about it. Neither was going to ask too many questions either.

Without another word, Aang reached for her arm. Her fingers stilled between her toes. Toph hated this part. She hated how much comfort she found in something as simple as his touch. His palms were smooth, smoother than hers anyway, but that wasn't saying much.

"I'll wash my hands," she said about to stand.

"I can do it," came his reply. Since the nightmares began, Aang had slept with his glider and a full water-skin. With almost delicate precision, he waterbended her hands clean. And then her feet.

"You didn't have to do that."

Aang smiled at her. "I don't mind."

Honestly, she didn't either.

Securing the bending water back in its place, Aang reached for her hand. It surprised him every time how small her hand was, and how well it fit in his.

"How long do you think we're gonna have to do this for?" she asked, already feeling the exhaustion taking over.

"I don't know, Toph," he yawned and within minutes of laying on Appa once again, was fast asleep.

...

The words had been on the tip of his tongue many times, so close to bringing up the subject they had both agreed not to discuss until they were officially married. But, Sokka wasn't sure he could wait that long.

Suki was beautiful. He had always thought her beautiful, but damn if she wasn't the sexiest woman he had ever seen. True, all she was currently doing was sitting on a bench learning the correct stitching to mend his pants, but Sokka couldn't take his eyes off her.

"What?" Suki asked when she caught him staring. "It's not wrong, is it?"

Gran-Gran inspected the work. "There's nothing wrong with it," the older woman assured her, then turned to her grandson. "Sokka, why don't you go finish building that...thing you were building."

"It's not a thing, Gran-Gran, it's a—"

"Yes, that. Go."

Sokka wondered how much trouble he would get in if he kicked his grandmother out of her own house, locked the door to keep everyone else out, and had his way with Suki right there on that very bench his betrothed was sitting on.

The small frown Suki gave him accompanied by the slight shake of her head told him she knew exactly what he was thinking and wasn't about to allow it. So much for that plan.

"I'm gonna take a swim in the freezing ocean water. See you guys later."

Gran-Gran turned to her soon-to-be granddaughter and nodded approvingly. Suki forced a smile to her face.

She wasn't sure how much more she could take. If she caught sight of Sokka without his parka one more time, she was certain the urge to jump him would be too strong to fight off. Not even the presence of the other villagers would stop her.

Why, oh, why had they agreed to wait to have sex again until their wedding night?

...

By the time Aang and Toph got to Makapu Village they had figured out that they didn't need to fall asleep while holding hands in order to keep the nightmares away. As long as they were very near each other, it was enough. Their nights were restful once again and their days went back to normal.

"Trust me, Toph, it's not so bad."

"But why would I want this Aunt Yu—"

"Aunt Wu."

"Whatever. Why would I want her to read my fortune?"

"I don't know, people seemed to believe everything she says. And the volcano is really close to the village, we have to go! It'll be fun." Aang didn't want to tell her the real reason he wanted them both to talk to the fortuneteller.

Bored already, Toph crossed her arms and groaned.

...

When they arrived at Aunt Wu's home, Aang and Toph were greeted by Meng.

"Hi!" she said, her cheeks filling with color as she took in the sight of the young airbender. "How are you?" she asked, smiling.

"Good, thanks. We came to see Aunt Wu. Is she here?"

"We?" Meng had been so delighted to see Aang again, she hadn't bothered to notice the girl standing right next to him.

"This is Toph," he said. "Toph, this is Meng. Aunt Wu's assistant."

"You...remembered my name?"

"Of course." Aang smiled his usual cheerful smile.

Meng was about to faint.

"So, is she here or not?" Toph barely managed not to growl.

Meng didn't reply, lost as she was in her daydream. She and Aang would marry at sunset, then he would whisk her off on that giant flying beast of his to one of his Air Temples. They could start having kids right away, she was okay with that. They would fill the temple with little airbenders and Aang would love her all the more for it. They would live happily ever after... Meng sighed dreamily.

Toph wanted to shake the girl. Were they going to find one of his fangirls in every town they went to? First On Ji, now this one? Ugh.

"We'll come back."

Nearly out the front door, Meng stopped them.

"Wait!" She led Aang back to the small lobby. "Aunt Wu will return soon. You can wait for her here."

Aang was about to accept when Toph declined.

"Thanks but those panda lilies ain't gonna pick themselves."

Suddenly Meng looked crushed.

"You're...you're picking panda lilies?"

She knew what they represented, what they were a symbol of. How many in the village had found true love with the help of a panda lily? Meng had lost count.

"Yeah," Aang answered. "They're for our friends' wedding." So Aang and the girl weren't picking them for each other? Hope filled Meng again. Aang added, "Please tell Aunt Wu we stopped by and will come back later."

"Yes, of course," she replied as they left. "It was very nice to see you again," she called out. "Very nice."

Toph turned to Aang to mutter, "That girl's voice is so annoying."

...

Zuko paced his study. As much as he tried to focus, he couldn't. He seemed to read the words on the various scrolls on his desk without understanding a single one.

He knew what was bothering him, but refused to acknowledge it. Frustrated, he sat behind his desk.

After a few moments, he grabbed parchment paper and ink, intent on writing a letter. But, what would he say? He couldn't tell her any of the things he was thinking, that was ridiculous. Instead, he stood and paced his study again.

All he knew was he had wished to stop her. He had wanted to stop Katara from boarding the naval ship to tell her...tell her...he had no idea what he wanted to tell her. He only knew he didn't want her to leave.

...

They raced up the volcano. Aang wanted to fly them up there, but it wasn't every day Toph got the chance to climb up the side of an active volcano. There was no way she wasn't doing it. They reached the top almost at the same time, Toph beating Aang by a short distance.

"Won't these start dying the minute we pluck them from the soil?" she wondered, sensing the panda lilies nearby. The heat from the lava below was making her sweat so she took a step back.

"Sokka considered that. He said that if I freeze them while they're still in the ground, they should make it to the South Pole and survive until we thaw them for the wedding."

"Yeah, okay. Lemme know when you're done with the freezing part. I'll help with the getting them down the mountain part," Toph grinned, lying on the ground. The day was chilly, the sky cloudy, but the warm earth beneath her feet and back made it quite comfortable.

Aang wondered where to start. Airbending closer to the spot where the flowers seemed to grow in pairs, he began to earthbend a cube shaped block out of the earth, then used the water from his water-skin to form a larger cube to encase the panda lilies and dirt. It seemed to work, but he had used up all his water already. There had to be an easier way, he thought, looking around hoping an answer would hit him when an all-white panda lily caught his eye.

Picking it without thinking, Aang smelled the flower. It had a very unique scent. He glanced around, but couldn't see another like it.

"Hey Toph, look at this!" he said, bending himself to her location.

"What do you want me to look at, Twinkletoes?"

"Heh, sorry. I meant, smell this."

Aang gave Toph the panda lily.

She brought it to her nose and inhaled. The scent was...strange. Not bad, but different than most flowers. It was sweet with a tangy hint to it, like citrus. She decided she liked it.

"This mean you're done with the freezing?" she asked.

"No, actually. I'm out of water."

"How many flowers you got so far?"

"Two."

"Two?" she snickered.

"Yeah. Listen, I'm going down to the village to bring more water up here."

"Or," Toph stood up, the panda lily still in hand. "We can take the flowers down with us. Freeze 'em once we get to the bottom."

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Two earthbenders or one waterbender. You tell me."

...

"Is that a...a rock slide?!"

"No, it's a mudslide!"

"Run!"

The people of Makapu Village watched with terror in their eyes as a side of the volcano seemed to be melting off.

"Did Aunt Wu say this would happen?" someone asked.

"No, she didn't."

Among the chaos, a woman approached the gazebo in the main square.

"Everyone, remain calm. There is nothing to be afraid of."

It was Aunt Wu. Her words had an immediate effect on the village and the panic turned to simple curiosity as they watched the huge mass of land get closer. It approached at an alarming rate, but no one moved. No one except the merchant who had positioned himself close to the edge of the village which stood in the direct path of impending destruction.

"Sir, it is best if you stay where you are," Aunt Wu advised, but the man was new to town and did not have the same faith in the fortuneteller as the locals. He loaded his cart and scurried across the village square, hoping to safeguard his produce in the process.

Aunt Wu had been right, there was no need to worry. Toph and Aang had complete control of the huge slab of earth. When they were close enough to the village where Aang could see the others looking at them, they ceased bending. The slab of earth filled with panda lilies came to a full stop.

"The rest is on you, Twinkletoes."

When Aang blew on his bison whistle to get Appa's help with transporting water, the bison flew out of the stables in such a hurry, he knocked over the merchant's cart.

"My cabbages!" he lamented.

"Sorry!" Aang apologized. "I don't think Appa saw you there."

"Aunt Wu did tell you not to move," someone reminded the cabbage merchant who had tears in his eyes.

...

The following evening, Aang and Toph were invited to Aunt Wu's.

"Welcome, young travelers."

"Thank you, Aunt Wu. I hope we didn't cause too much trouble yesterday."

The older woman smiled in that kind way of hers. "It was nothing."

"That cabbage guy didn't seem to think it was nothing," Toph stated.

"Let me rephrase that, it was nothing that cannot be fixed."

"Right..."

Aunt Wu studied the young lady. "The cabbage merchant, like many others, choose not to have an open mind." There seemed to be no judgment in her tone and Toph kept the sarcastic reply on the tip of her tongue to herself. "My assistant told me you stopped by yesterday. Was there something I could assist you with?"

"We came to Mt. Makapu to get panda lilies for our friends' wedding."

"Ah."

"You remember Sokka, right?"

"Oh...yes." The young man who's future will be full of struggle and anguish. Most of it, self-inflicted. Though Aunt Wu wished she could see his face to know if that was still true or not.

"When we got here I told Toph about you."

Aunt Wu turned to Toph. "And you would like me to do a reading?"

"Not really."

"No?"

"Look, no offense, but I don't see the point."

Aunt Wu smiled at the girl's choice of words. "Well, since you are here, why not allow me the privilege this time?"

Sure, why not, Toph thought, standing and following Aunt Wu into another room.

Once they left, Meng appeared almost instantly.

"Hi."

"Hey." Aang saw she was upset. "Are you okay?"

"I always thought that if I ever saw you again, I might have a chance."

"A chance?"

Meng nodded. "To get to know you better. And maybe you could get to know me...and then, then you could like me like I like you."

"Meng." His heart went out to her. He could sympathize. After all, he knew what it was like not have your affections returned, to have all hope dashed away...

"That's not going to happen, is it?" She looked dejected, her tone mournful.

"I'm sorry," Aang apologized, not wanting to give her any false hope.

"Maybe if you came here without a girlfriend..." Meng muttered under her breath.

"Girlfriend?!" he squeaked, eyes wide with surprise. "I didn't...I don't..."

"It's okay," she shrugged. "I was at the inn last night—I wasn't stalking you this time, I swear! I was only making a delivery and...I saw you sneaking into her room."

"What!?" Aang's whole head was bright red. "It's not...that wasn't..." How to even begin explaining about the whole nightmares thing without it sounding totally ludicrous and like a complete fabrication? Aang didn't even bother.

"It's okay," Meng told him again. "I won't tell anyone. If you want to keep your relationship private, I can respect that."

"You've got the wrong idea," Aang swore. "It's not like that between me and Toph." At least that wasn't the reason he snuck into her room. But sometimes he wished that maybe...just maybe...

"Come on," Meng said, clearly not believing him. "You've been spending every day with her—I overheard you two talking, heh. And she's a beautiful, amazing earthbender who makes you laugh all the time." She sighed. "Besides, I see how you gaze at her."

Aang choked on his saliva. "Meng, I don't know what you're talking about. Toph and I are friends—wait, what do you mean gaze at? I do not gaze at Toph!"

He didn't, did he?

...

"So...I just pick one of the bones?"

"Yes. Then toss it in the fire."

Toph paused. The whole time they had been in the private room, Aunt Wu had not offered to help her once. She asked her to sit, told her to choose a bone from the jug, and just now, she said to throw it on the fire, but not once had the fortuneteller made her feel helpless in anyway. Most people Toph met had a tendency to treat her in that condescending way initially. Hey, if Aunt Wu was going to respect Toph, Toph could do the same.

"The heat makes cracks in the bone and I read the bone cracks to tell your destiny," Aunt Wu explained once Toph tossed the bone.

Soon, small cracks appeared along its sides.

"Hmm, this is very interesting..."

Yeah, I bet, Toph thought. Though she would be respectful, but had a tough time wiping the skeptical look off her face.

"Anything you would like to ask?" Aunt Wu inquired.

"Nope."

"Family? Fortune?"

"Got both."

"Health?"

"Nah."

Aunt Wu smiled knowingly. "Most people wish to know about love."

Toph wasn't like most people. Still, a tiny part of her was tempted to ask what the fortuneteller could see in that regard, but she shook her head. "No thanks."

"Very well," Aunt Wu nodded. "You seem to see more than most anyway. You should have no trouble realizing where your heart lies."

"It's not that." For some reason she thought of Aang. Weird. "I just..."

"You can tell me anything," Aunt Wu offered encouragingly.

The walls were made of wood, but the floors were stone and Toph tapped on them to see if anyone was within hearing range. Aang was still in the waiting lobby. He was with that Meng girl. Toph shifted in place, changing her mind at the last second.

"I'm just not interested in that stuff," the blind girl answered, lying through her teeth. Truth be told, there was a time she hadn't cared, but then she ran away from home and met people (boys!) and that changed. It wasn't high on her list of priorities though, but liking someone and being liked...there were definitely worse things.

"Will you allow me to give you one piece of advice? For the day 'that stuff' begins to matter, of course."

Smirking, Toph nodded.

"Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a candle has been lit somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is...suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with."

Toph seemed to contemplate the words for a bit, her thoughts wandering to strange though not unexpected places, and then she spoke. "You lost me at 'one day you look at the person'."

Aunt Wu rubbed her forehead. She felt a headache coming on.

AN: Oh Toph! XD The advice Aunt Wu gives her is a quote from The X-Files (S6, E8 - The Rain King), but it's "Like a switch has been flicked somewhere" instead of the candle thing. Also, Aang's line in regards to Toph is originally: "I do not gaze at Scully." When I first heard Mulder say it, I lol'd. So yeah, this chapter was brought to you by The X-Files, apparently! ;D